Providing radio resource ownership indicators for user equipment charging records in a mobile network environment

ABSTRACT

Techniques are described herein for providing radio resource ownership indicators in charging records for a charging function. In one example, a method may include determining, by a session management node of a mobile network, that a user equipment is utilizing a particular radio resource of a mobile network resource for a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session of the user equipment, wherein the mobile network resource is capable of being utilized via a plurality of radio resources and the particular radio resources is associated with an enterprise entity; and reporting charging information for the PDU session of the user equipment to a charging function of the mobile network to facilitate storing a charging record for the user equipment that is to include an identifier of the enterprise entity that is associated with the particular radio resource.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to network equipment and services.

BACKGROUND

Networking architectures have grown increasingly complex incommunications environments, particularly mobile networkingenvironments. In some instances, a user equipment may desire to attachto a particular network slice in order to access services provided bythe slice. Thus, a mobile network in which multiple slices may beavailable to a user equipment may enable enhanced services to beprovided to the user equipment via one or more slices. However, theresignificant challenges with managing slices in a mobile networkenvironment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates example details regarding different frequencies thatmay be associated with a given network slice, in accordance withembodiments herein.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a system in which techniques may be implementedto provide radio resource ownership indicators for charging records of acharging system or function, according to an example embodiment.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a message sequence diagram illustrating a call flowassociated with providing radio resource ownership indicators forcharging records of a charging system or function, according to anexample embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating example details associatedwith a report that can be enhanced to carry radio resource ownershipindicators, according to an example embodiment.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are another message sequence diagram illustratinganother call flow associated with providing radio resource ownershipindicators for charging records of a charging system or function,according to an example embodiment.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate example details associated with a user planeGeneral Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP-U) extensionheader that can be enhanced to carry radio resource ownershipindicators, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating example details associatedwith another report that can be enhanced to carry radio resourceownership indicators, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart depicting a method according to an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 9 is a hardware block diagram of a computing device that mayperform functions associated with any combination of operations, inconnection with the techniques discussed herein.

FIG. 10 is a hardware block diagram of a radio device that may performfunctions associated with any combination of operations, in connectionwith the techniques discussed herein.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS Overview

Techniques described herein provide for the ability to incorporate radiospectrum ownership indicators in the charging records for scenarios inwhich spectrum is owned by any of a customer, an enterprise entity, anoperator, or a third-party.

In one embodiment, a method may include determining, by a sessionmanagement node of a mobile network, that a user equipment is utilizinga particular radio resource of a mobile network resource for a ProtocolData Unit (PDU) session of the user equipment, wherein the mobilenetwork resource is capable of being utilized via a plurality of radioresources and the particular radio resources is associated with anenterprise entity; and reporting charging information for the PDUsession of the user equipment to a charging function of the mobilenetwork to facilitate storing a charging record for the user equipmentthat is to include an identifier of the enterprise entity that isassociated with the particular radio resource.

EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

As referred to herein, an ‘enterprise’ or ‘enterprise entity’ may beconsidered to be a business, government, educational institution, anorganization, and/or the like that may include multiple enterpriselocations (or sites), such as a main campus, remote branches, anyoperating environment of private Fifth Generation (5G), such as afactory floor, port, mining facility, electric grid, etc. and so on.Enterprise devices (e.g., enterprise user equipment (UE), etc.) that maybe owned, operated, and/or otherwise associated with an enterprise maybe utilized by enterprise users to serve enterprise purposes (e.g.,business purpose, government purpose, educational/university purpose,etc.) of the enterprise. In some instances, an enterprise may operate anenterprise network, also referred to as an enterprise data network,which may be a network implemented to serve enterprise purposes (e.g.,host enterprise applications/services/etc., perform authenticationsand/or authorizations, etc. for enterprise users associated with one ormore UE, and/or the like).

Further as referred to herein, a wireless wide area (WWA) accessnetwork, such as a cellular/Third (3rd) Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) access networks, may be characterized as a Radio Access Network(RAN) having radio nodes such as evolved Node Bs (eNBs or eNodeBs) forFourth (4th) Generation (4G)/Long Term Evolution (LTE) access networks,next generation Node Bs (gNBs or gNodeBs) for Fifth (5th) Generation(5G) and/or next Generation (nG) access networks, and/or the like thatprovide a larger RAN coverage area as compared to the RAN coverages areatypically provided by wireless local area (WLA) radio nodes (e.g.,Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 accesspoints, Wi-Fi® access points, Wi-Fi6® access points, etc.). Stateddifferently, the WWA RAN coverage area provided by a WWA radio node istypically larger (sometimes orders of magnitude larger, for example, upto a ratio of 1:5, depending on spectrum and power regulations) than theWLA RAN coverage area provided by a WLA radio node. Additionally, a WWARAN radio node can typically provide radio access connectivity for alarger number of devices as compared to a WLA RAN radio node. Dependingon implementation, any combination of WWA and/or WLA RANs may beutilized to facilitate connections between one or more devices and anycombination of Local Area Networks (LANs), such as an enterprise networkfor an enterprise location; Wide Area Networks (WANs), such as theInternet, multiple enterprise networks spread across multiple locations;Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN); and/or any other networkarchitecture/environment.

In some instances, an access network, such as a WWA access network, maybe referred to as a private access network. By ‘private’ it is meantthat a private WWA access network (e.g., a Citizen Broadband RadioService (CBRS) access network and/or a 3GPP cellular (4G/LTE, 5G, nG,etc.) access network) may provide network connectivity/services toclients (e.g., users/user equipment/devices/etc.) served by a networkoperator and/or service provider of the private WWA access network, suchas an enterprise. In one example, a private WWA access network may beconsidered to be a network that may be implemented to serve enterprisepurposes (e.g., business purposes, government purposes, educationalpurposes, etc.) for enterprise clients (e.g., enterprise users/userequipment/devices/etc.) in which the private WWA access network may beoperated by any combination of traditional public mobile networkoperators/service providers, enterprises network operators/serviceproviders (e.g., Cisco®, etc.), and/or third party networkoperators/service providers (e.g., neutral host networkoperators/service providers, cloud service providers, etc.). A privatenetwork may also be referred to as a standalone non-public network(SNPN) or a Public Network Integrated Non-Public Network (PNI-NPN) insome instances. Cisco is a registered trademark of Cisco Technology,Inc.

Various examples discussed herein may reference a network slice.Generally, a network slice also referred to generally as a ‘slice’ orcan refer to a group or set of Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) thatare configured to facilitate a certain mobile network service or groupof mobile network services.

Different types of slices (slice types) can be configured for a mobilenetwork such that each slice type can provide certain mobile networkservices. As referred to herein and in the claims, the terms ‘slice’ and‘slice instance’ may be used interchangeably to refer to slice type thatis instantiated (e.g., configured, created, operated, etc.) to provideone or more mobile network services for one or more user equipment (UE).Various VNFs that can be configured for a slice type in accordance withtechniques described herein can include Third Generation PartnershipProject (3GPP) Fourth Generation/Long Term Evolution (4G/LTE) VNFsand/or Fifth Generation (5G) VNFs, as may be prescribed, at least inpart, by 3GPP standards.

To provide mobile network services associated with a given slice type, aslice of the given slice type can be instantiated in which theinstantiated slice for the slice type can provide certain mobile networkservices to a number of UEs. Various example slice types can include,but not be limited to, a cellular vehicle to everything (V2X) slice typethat can provide cellular V2X services, an Internet of Things (IoT orIOT) massive IoT (mIoT) slice type that can provide IoT relatedservices, an Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) slice typethat can provide URLLC services, an enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB)slice type that can provide mobile broadband services, a massiveMachine-Type Communication (mMTC) slice type that can provide MTCservices, a High Performance Machine-Type Communication HMTC) slice typethat can provide HMTC services, etc. Other slice types can beenvisioned.

Per-3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.501, Section 5.15.2,Single-Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI) can beused to uniquely identify a slice in which an S-NSSAI includes aSlice/Service Type (SST), which indicates the expected slice behaviorfor a slice requested by a UE in terms of expected features andservices, and a Slice Differentiator (SD), which is optional and can beused to differentiate among multiple slices of a same SST. Generally, aslice type/S-NSSAI can be referenced/identified using a numerical valuefor the SST, such as S-NSSAI-1, S-NSSAI-2, etc.

The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) and theThird (3rd) Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) are moving towardsdefining network slices that can be operated in specific frequencybands. For example, a first network slice, Network Slice-1 (e.g.,S-NSSAI-1), can be configured to operate in a first frequency band ‘F1’and a second frequency band ‘F2’, whereas a second network slice,Network Slice-2 (e.g., S-NSSAI-2), can be configured to operate in athird frequency band ‘F3’. In this scenario, for a UE to access NetworkSlice-2, it must operate in frequency band F3. Thus, a frequency bandindicator can be another element that can be utilized as sliceconfiguration parameter set that can be incorporated into GSMA-definedslice configuration parameters. As referred to herein, a ‘frequencyband’ can be considered an interval or range of frequencies in thefrequency domain, which can be identified by the bounds of a lowerfrequency and a higher frequency for uplink (UL) and downlink (DL)communications. For example, as prescribed by 3GPP TechnicalSpecification (TS) 38.101, New Radio (NR) operating band ‘n1’, which mayalso be referred to as the 2100 Megahertz (MHz) frequency band, includeslower and upper bounds for UL communications (i.e., transmission by aUE/reception by a base station) from 1920 MHz to 1980 MHz and for DLcommunications (i.e., transmission by a base station/reception by a UE)from 2110 MHz to 2170 MHz. Thus, the lower bound for the n1 2100 MHzoperating/frequency band may be 1920 MHz and the upper bound for the n12100 MHz operating/frequency band may be 2170 MHz. Otheroperating/frequency bands are prescribed by 3GPP specifications. Theterms ‘frequency band’, ‘frequency spectrum’ can be used hereininterchangeably and may refer to a collection or set of radiofrequencies (i.e., between an upper and a lower bound) or, moregenerally, radio resources, through which services for a network slicecan be accessed by one or more UEs.

Consider FIG. 1 , for example, which illustrates example detailsregarding different frequency indicators that may be associated with agiven network slice 100, in accordance with embodiments herein. Alsoshown in FIG. 1 are a number of UEs including a UE 102-1, a UE 102-2,and a UE 102-3. As shown in FIG. 1 , network slice 100 can be configuredsuch that it can be operated (e.g., for UEs 102-1, 102-2, and 102-3seeking to avail services of the network slice 100) within an operatingfrequency band or spectrum (band/spectrum) 120 provided by a radio node122, such as a gNodeB, such that operating frequency band/spectrum isdelimited by an upper frequency bound ‘F_(UPPER)’ and a lower frequencybound ‘F_(LOWER)’.

For the example of FIG. 1 , the frequency band/spectrum 120 can furtherbe divided or allocated between: 1) an operator-owned band/spectrum F1120-1 (of the overall frequency band/spectrum 120) in which theoperator-owned band/spectrum F1 120-2 includes radio resources (e.g.,frequencies) of the overall network slice 100 operating frequencyband/spectrum 120 that can be utilized between and/or inclusive of thelower frequency bound F_(LOWER) and an intermediate frequency bound‘F_(INT)’; and 2) an enterprise-owned band/spectrum F2 120-2 (of theoverall frequency band/spectrum 120) in which the enterprise-ownedband/spectrum F2 120-2 includes radio resources (e.g., frequencies) ofthe overall network slice 100 operating band/spectrum 120 that can beutilized between the intermediate frequency bound F_(INT) (potentiallyincluding F_(INT), depending on frequency allocation of the slice to theenterprise) and the upper frequency bound F_(UPPER) (potentiallyincluding F_(UPPER) depending of frequency allocation to theenterprise).

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , UEs 102-1, 102-2, and 102-3 can utilize thenetwork slice 100 via different radio resources for Quality of Service(QoS) flows/Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions for the UEs. For example,UE 102-1 may have a QoS flow 104-1 for network slice 100 that isaccessed by the UE 102-1 via a radio resource (e.g., frequency) F₁₀₄₋₁of the enterprise-owned band/spectrum F2 120-2. In another example, UE102-2 may have a first QoS flow 104-2-1 for network slice that isaccessed by the UE 102-2 via a radio resource F₁₀₄₋₂₋₁ of theenterprise-owned band/spectrum F2 120-2 and may have a second QoS flow104-2-2 for the network slice 100 that is accessed by the UE 102-2 via aradio resource F₁₀₄₋₂₋₂ of the operator-owned band/spectrum F1 120-1. Inyet another example, UE 102-3 may have a QoS flow 104-3 for the networkslice 100 that is accessed by the UE 102-3 via a radio resource F₁₀₄₋₄of the operator-owned band/spectrum F1 120-1. Thus, as illustrated inFIG. 1 , UEs may access services of a network slice via any combinationof radio resources—enterprise-owned, operator-owned, and/or eventhird-party owned—in order to avail services of a the network slice.

With the adoption of private 5G for enterprise applications, a networkslice that is configured by a network operator for use by a givenenterprise (e.g., the network slice can be operated/managed by thenetwork operator and leased to the enterprise for use of the slice bythe UEs of the enterprise) can be configured with one or more frequencybands, which can include radio resources (e.g., frequencies) that can beutilized by enterprise UEs to avail services of the slice. In someinstances, the configured frequency bands may or may not be owned by amobile network operator (MNO) or by the enterprise (e.g., may be ownedby a third-party).

For example, in one instance it may be possible that the enterprise hasa license for a particular spectrum and, thus, owns the spectrum whileusing a core network provided by an MNO. It may also be possible that anenterprise may obtain core network service from one operator, and mayobtain spectrum from some other operator. Spectrum policies are complexand can be different across different regulatory domains. Thus, it canbe observed that a network slice configured by a mobile operator for agiven enterprise can be using:

-   -   frequency bands owned by a mobile network operator;    -   frequency bands owned by an enterprise;    -   frequency band owned by a third-party operator;    -   frequency bands from an unlicensed range; and/or    -   a mix of any of the above.

Given the possibility of different network slice configurations, it is areasonable to expect an operator to apply different charging rules forenterprise traffic (i.e., enterprise UE traffic) based on the frequencybands/radio resources that are used for the enterprise traffic.

3GPP standards have defined a charging model for various data trafficusage, but an underlying assumption of the current 3GPP standards-basedmodel is that radio spectrum is owned by a mobile network operator.Therefore, there are no semantics to provide frequency-ownershipindications or tags in UE charging records (also referred to as ChargingData Records (CDRs)) under the current 3GPP standards-based model. Suchdistinction in the past may not have had made sense, but now with theintroduction private 5G network environments and with regulatory bodiesopening up spectrum for enterprise use under different spectrumpolicies, there is a need to provide semantics in the charginginterfaces for reflecting the frequency/spectrum ownership aspects thatmay affect charging.

Techniques herein provide for the ability to provide radio resourceownership indicators in charging records of a charging system. In someinstances, providing radio resource ownership indicators in chargingrecords of a charging system can enable enhancedbilling/settlement/financial clearing charging models for anycombination of public and/or private mobile networking environments. Invarious embodiments, radio resources can be identified as a radiospectrum, a radio band, a radio frequency or frequencies, a radio beamidentified by a beam identifier, combinations thereof, and/or the like.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a system 200 in which techniques may beimplemented to provide radio resource (e.g., frequency, etc.) ownershipindicators for charging records of a charging system or function,according to an example embodiment. System 200 may include a UE 202, aRadio Access Network (RAN) 210, and a mobile core network 220. Alsoshown in system 200 are an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance(OA&M) network element, referred to herein as OA&M 238, a billing system239, one or more data network(s) 240, and an enterprise entity 250.

In at least one embodiment, RAN 210 may be configured with anycombination of one or more 3GPP 5G/nG gNB or gNodeB, such as a gNodeB212, and/or 3GPP 4G/LTE evolved node Bs (eNodeBs or eNBs) (not shown) tofacilitate network connectivity between UE 202 and mobile core network220. In some instances, RAN 210 may be characterized as a nextgeneration (NG) RAN (NG-RAN).

In at least one embodiment, mobile core network 220 may berepresentative of a 5G core network (5GC) including various networkfunctions (NFs)/VNFs, such as an Access and Mobility Management Function(AMF) 222, a Policy Control Function (PCF) 226, a Unified DataManagement (UDM) entity 228 (referred to herein interchangeably as ‘UDM228’), and a charging function (CHF) 230. Although not illustrated,mobile core network 220 may also include any combination of 4G/nGnetwork elements. In some instances, UDM 2288 may further interface witha Unified Data Repository (UDR) (not shown).

Mobile core network 220 may also include mobile network resources suchas a number of slice instances that may be instantiated forcorresponding slice types provided by mobile core network 220 forvarious services (e.g., mIoT, URLLC, etc.) that may be provided mobilecore network 220 for one or more sessions for UE 202. A number ofinstantiated network slice instances are illustrated in FIG. 2 formobile core network 220. For example, Slice-1 231-1 is illustrated inmobile core network 220 and may represent an instantiated slice instancefor a given slice type that may include a Session Management Function(SMF) 224-1 and a User Plane Function (UPF) 232-1 and may be identifiedusing an S-NSSAI, such as S-NSSAI-1 in this example. Any number ofadditional network slices, such as a slice-2 231-2 through an ‘N’ numberof slices slice-N 231-N may also be instantiated within mobile corenetwork 220 for any number of additional network slices that may besupport by mobile core network 220. Each of slice-2 231-2 throughslice-N 231-N may include similar VNFs, such as corresponding SMFs andUPFs, which are not shown in FIG. 1 for purposes of brevity only. Ingeneral, slice-1 231-1 may represent a default slice of mobile corenetwork 220 with which a UE, such as UE 202 may establish an initial PDUsession upon registration with mobile core network 220.

In various embodiments, the data network(s) 240 of FIG. 1 may be anycombination of the Internet, a gaming network, an Internet Protocol (IP)Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), an Ethernet data network, Ethernet switchingsystem(s), and/or the like. Generally, the IMS may provide forcommunicating IP multimedia services, such as voice calls (e.g., voiceover IP (VoIP)), etc. with UE 202.

A UE, such as UE 202, may be associated with any user, subscriber,employee, client, customer, electronic device, etc. wishing to initiatea flow in system 200 and may be inclusive of any device that initiates acommunication in system 200, such as a computer, an electronic devicesuch as an industrial device (e.g., a robot), automation device,enterprise device, appliance, Internet of Things (IoT) device (e.g.,sensor, monitor, etc.), a laptop or electronic notebook, a router with aWWA/WLA interface, a WWA/WLA (cellular/Wi-Fi®) enabled telephone/smartphone, tablet, etc. and/or any other device, component, element, orobject capable of initiating voice, audio, video, media, or dataexchanges within system 200. It is to be understood that UEs discussedherein may also be configured with any combination of hardware (e.g.,communications units, receiver(s), transmitter(s), transceiver(s),antenna(s) and/or antenna array(s), processor(s), memory element(s),baseband processor(s) (modems), etc.)], controllers, software, logic,and/or any other elements/entities that may facilitate over-the-air RFconnections with one or more access networks. Enterprise entity 250 maybe any enterprise (e.g., business, government agency,educational/university institution, etc.) that may own/operate/manage UE202.

A gNodeB/eNodeB, such as gNodeB 212, may implement a wireless wide area(WWA) (e.g., cellular) air interface and, in some instances also awireless local area (e.g., Wi-Fi®) air interface, for any combination ofRadio Access Technology (RAT) types (sometimes referred to moregenerally as ‘accesses’ or ‘access types’) for RAN 210 such as, 3GPP WWAlicensed spectrum accesses (e.g., 4G/LTE, 5G/New Radio (NR) accesses);3GPP unlicensed spectrum accesses (e.g., Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA),enhanced LAA (eLAA), further enhanced LAA (feLAA), and New RadioUnlicensed (NR-U)); non-3GPP unlicensed spectrum WLA accesses such asIEEE 802.11 (e.g., Wi-Fi®); IEEE 802.16 (e.g., WiMAX®), Near FieldCommunications (NFC), Bluetooth®, and/or the like; Citizens BroadbandRadio Service (CBRS) accesses; combinations thereof; and/or the like.Thus, a RAN 210, including any combination of gNodeBs/eNodeBs, mayinclude any hardware and/or software to perform baseband signalprocessing (such as modulation/demodulation) as well as hardware (e.g.,baseband processors (modems), transmitters and receivers, transceivers,and/or the like), software, logic and/or the like to facilitate signaltransmissions and signal receptions via antenna assemblies (not shown)in order to provide over-the-air Radio Frequency (RF) coverage for oneor more access types (e.g., 4G/LTE, 5G/NR, CBRS, etc.) through which oneor more UE, such as UE 202, may utilize to connect to RAN 210 for one ormore sessions (e.g., voice, video, data, gaming, combinations thereof,etc.).

As illustrated in FIG. 2 , gNodeB 212 may interface with AMF 222 (e.g.,via a 3GPP N2 interface) and UPF 232-1 of slice-1 231-1 (e.g., via a3GPP N3 interface) of mobile core network 220. AMF 152 may furtherinterface with SMF 224-1 of slice-1 231-1, which may further interfacewith UPF 232-1 (e.g., via a 3GPP N4 interface) which may furtherinterface with data network(s) 240 (e.g., via 3GPP N6 interfaces). AMF222 and SMF 224-1 can each further interface with PCF 226, UDM 228, andCHF 230 corresponding service-based interfaces (SBIs), as shown in FIG.2 , facilitating interconnection among the various network functions.Each of PCF 226, UDM 228, and CHF 230 may also interface and accessservices among each other via the corresponding service-basedinterfaces. For example, services corresponding to SMF 224-1 may beaccessed by other element(s) via a corresponding service-based interfaceNsmf, AMF 222 services may be accessed by other element(s) via aservice-based interface Namf, PCF 226 services may be accessed by otherelement(s) via a service-based interface Npcf, UDM 228 services may beaccessed by other element(s) via a service-based interface Nudm, and CHF230 services may be accessed by other element(s) via a service-basedinterface Nchf. It is to be understood that gNodeB 212 and UPF 232-1 mayalso access services of any of the NFs shown FIG. 2 . Additionally, VNFsfor each of slice-2 231-2 through slice-N 231-1, such as SMFs/UPFs (notshown) for the slices may also interface with AMF 222, gNodeB 212, PCF226, UDM 228, and CHF 230 via corresponding interfaces as discussedabove for the various network elements.

Further for FIG. 2 , OA&M 238 may interface with any network function ofmobile core network 220 and/or gNodeB 212 of RAN 210 via any combinationof interfaces supporting any combination of protocols, such as NetworkConfiguration Protocol (NETCONF), Yet Another Next Generation (YANG)data model(s), Application Programming Interface (API), RepresentationalState Transfer (REST or RESTful) interface, Plug and Play (PnP)interface, Command-Line Interface (CLI), and/or the like to facilitatevarious operations discussed herein. Generally, billing system 239 mayinterface with CHF 230 using any appropriate interface (e.g., NETCONF,API, etc.) and may obtain CDRs from CHF 230 in order to determine anamount data utilized by UE 202 for a given radio resource owned/operatedby different stake holders (e.g., enterprise entity 250) and can billthe stake holders accordingly based on the UE 202 usage. Enterpriseentity 250 may interface using any appropriate interfaces (e.g., API,etc.) with billing system 239 and OA&M 238. In some instances,connectivity for OA&M 238, billing system 239, and enterprise entity 250may be facilitated via data network(s) 240

In addition to various operations discussed for techniques herein, anAMF, such as AMF 222, may facilitate access and mobility managementcontrol/services for one or more UE, such as UE 202, to facilitate anover-the-air RF connection between the UE 202 and the gNodeB 212. Inaddition to various operations discussed for techniques herein, an SMF,such as SMF 224-1, may be responsible for UE PDU session management(SM), with individual functions/services being supported on aper-session basis in order to facilitate data transfer(s) between a UEand one or more of data network(s) 240. Generally, a UPF, such as UPF232-1, may operate as a VNF to provide packet routing and forwardingoperations for user data traffic and may also perform a variety offunctions such as packet inspection, traffic optimization, Quality ofService (QoS), policy enforcement and user data traffic handling (e.g.,to/from data network(s) 240), and billing operations (e.g., accounting,usage reporting, etc.) for UE 202 sessions.

Typically, a PCF, such as PCF 226 stores policy data for the system 200to provide policy control services (e.g., to facilitate access controlfor UE 202, network selection, etc.). Typically, a UDM, such as UDM 228stores subscription data for subscribers (e.g., UE 202) that can beretrieved and/or otherwise obtained/utilized during operation of system200. Typically, a CHF, such as CHF 230, provides support for chargingservices such as facilitating the transfer of policy counter informationassociated with subscriber (e.g., UE 202) spending limits, usage, etc.PCF 226, UDM 228, and CHF 230 may facilitate other operations inaccordance with embodiments as described herein. Generally, OA&M 238 mayprovide for configuring, monitoring, managing, etc. any network elementsof system 200 and may facilitate other operations in accordance withembodiments as described herein.

During operation of the mobile network architecture as illustrated inFIG. 2 , embodiments herein may facilitate providing radio resource(e.g., frequency) ownership indicators that can be utilized by acharging system, such as CHF, using various approaches. Generally forthe various approaches described herein, the RAN 210 can be configuredwith various radio resource mapping information (e.g., frequency ranges,bands, beam identifiers) that can be used for a given network slice fora given owner/operator (e.g., enterprise entity, MNO, third-partyentity, etc.) and the RAN 210 can manage these resources and use themacross different gNodeBs

For a first approach, the OA&M 238 may configure gNodeB 212 with aper-slice (e.g., for each of slice-1 231-1, slice-2 231-2, etc.) radioresource to owner/operator mapping 214 (radio resource+owner/operatormapping) in which an identifier for an owner/operator of a radioresource can be stored in association with an identifier/identifiers ofthe radio resource (e.g., spectrum, radio frequency/frequencies or, moregenerally, the radio resources) that is owned/operated by theowner/operator, which may be any of an Service Provider (SP)/MNO,enterprise entity, third-party, etc. For the embodiment of FIG. 2 ,consider that certain radio resources are configured for enterpriseentity 250 that owns/operates/manages UE 202. In at least oneembodiment, an identifier for an owner/operator of a radio resource thatis an SP/MNO can be identified using a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN)identifier (ID) comprising a Mobile Country Code (MCC) and a MobileNetwork Code (MNC), ‘MCC-MNC’, that uniquely identifies the SP/MNO(e.g., ‘MCC-MNC’=‘310-010’. In various embodiments, an identifier (ID)for an enterprise entity or a third-party, such as enterprise entity 250for the embodiment of FIG. 2 , may be a 3GPP Object Identifier (OID), anOrganizationally Unique Identifier (OUI), a Roaming ConsortiumOrganizational Identifier (RCOI), and/or the like that may be used touniquely identify an enterprise entity within a mobile core network,such as mobile core network 220.

When data traffic starts for a given UE session, such as a PDU sessionfor UE 202 as shown in FIG. 2 , that utilizes the spectrum owned oroperated by the enterprise entity 250 for a mobile network resource,such as for slice-1 231-1, the gNodeB 212 can send a RAT Data UsageReport message to AMF 222 for the QoS flow associated with the UE 202(that utilizes the mobile network resource) in which the RAT Data UsageReport message includes a RAT Usage Information IE (information element)that includes usage details including the enterprise ID enterpriseentity 250 (e.g., OID for enterprise entity 250, etc.) and an identifierof the radio resource utilized by the UE 202 (e.g., an identifier of thefrequency/frequency range, band, spectrum, beam, etc. utilized by theUE). If there are multiple QoS flows for UE 202 that utilize multipleradio resources, the gNodeB 212 can send RAT usage reports for every QoSflow for the UE 202.

Regarding radio beam resources, in some instances, a UE, such as UE 202,may access broadcast beam resources and/or single beam resources via fora network slice. Broadcast beam resources may help to ensure that themost consistent service is obtained across the service area, whereassingle beams can help to ensure an optimized use of frequency resources.In some instances, broadcast beam resources can be utilized for sharedcell implementations (e.g., multiple gNodeBs broadcast/serve a same cellidentity), whereas single beam resources can be utilized for unique cellimplementations (e.g., each gNodeB broadcasts/serves a unique cellidentity).

Generally, a beamformed system can use a plurality of antenna elementsto adapt the composite antenna gain pattern generated by the antennaelements. The system can apply a set of amplitude and phase weights tothe signals applied to individual antenna elements to direct the antennamain lobe pattern and/or side lobes and/or nulls towards specificazimuth and/or elevation angles. The use of specific azimuths and/orelevation angles can be used to beneficially direct radiated energy andreceive energy to/from locations of specific user devices, in preferenceto other locations. Opportunistically, then serving a plurality ofdevices (e.g., UEs), the radiation pattern used to serve independentdevices can generate a high degree of orthogonality between the channelsused to serve individual devices. This allows multiple devices to beserved simultaneously, using spatial multiplexing to simultaneouslydirect radiated energy towards a first device using a first set ofantenna weights and towards a second device using a second set ofantenna weights.

In order to support beamforming in one embodiment, pre-defined beams canbe defined for a radio node, such as gNodeB 212. Each beam may representa set of weights and phases applied to a set of antenna elements for thegNodeB 212 and can be represented by a 15-bit beam identifier (beam-ID)in which a beam-ID of zero (0) may correspond to a broadcast beam andother beam-IDs may correspond to predefined antenna patterns. In variousembodiments, one or more beam ID(s) may be assigned to a givenowner/operator for a given network slice/slice(s), such that theowner/operator can be identified in charging records for UEs utilizingsuch resources.

Returning to the present example, the AMF 222 can then send the RATusage details to the SMF 224-1, which may also receive usage reports forthe UPF 232-1 for the UE 202 session, for example, utilizing PacketForwarding Control Protocol (PFCP) Session Report Request messaging sentfrom the UPF for the UE 202 session. Utilizing the usage details/reportsreceived from both the AMF 222 and the UPF 232-1, the SMF 224-1 cangenerate charging information for the UE 202 PDU session, such as one ormore charging record(s) (e.g., CDR(s)) for the UE 202 PDU session, andsend the charging record(s) to the CHF 230 that include the enterpriseentity ID (e.g., OID, etc.) for enterprise entity 250. The CHF 230 thenapplies the correct rating group for the UE 202 usage considering thespectrum usage and stores the UE 202 usage in charging records 234 suchthat the charging records can be stored in association with theenterprise entity ID and the CHF 230 can send the charging records tobilling system 239. Billing system 239 can determine an amount datautilized by a UE (e.g., UE 202) for a given radio resourceowned/operated by different stake holders and can bill the stake holdersaccordingly based on the UE usage (e.g., bill enterprise entity 250regarding UE 202 usage). In various embodiments, charging rates may bedifferent for data sent on different frequencies owned/operated bydifferent entities. For example, in one instance data communicated by UE202 on a given radio resource owned/operated by enterprise entity 250may be charged at a reduced rate as compared to radio resources notowned/operated by enterprise entity 250.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example charging record 260 for UE 202 PDU sessionutilizing radio resources of slice-1 231-1 that are owned/operated byenterprise entity 250 in which the example charging record 260 mayinclude UE identifying information 261 for UE 202 (e.g., InternationalMobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), Subscription Permanent Identifier(SUPI), Subscription Concealed Identifier (SUCI), or the like), networkinformation 262 (e.g., Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) ID, etc.),slice information 263 (e.g., S-NSSAI value), usage details 264 for theUE 202 PDU session (e.g., volume information, time information,uplink/downlink usage, QoS information, etc. as may be prescribed by3GPP standards), and owner/operator information 265, which for theembodiment of FIG. 2 illustrates an OID value of ‘250’ that may be theOID corresponding to enterprise entity 250, in this example.

In some instances, a PCF 226 may send Policy Charging and Control (PCC)rules to the SMF 224-1 that specify whether a QoS flow should utilizeoperator owned spectrum or enterprise owned/operated spectrum (e.g., aQoS flow to radio resource mapping) along with appropriate rating group(RG) and/or Service Identifier (ID) information. Per 3GPPspecifications, an RG is the charging key for a given PCC rule used forrating purposes and a service ID indicates the identifier of a serviceor service component for a service data flow (e.g., PDU session dataflow) related to the PCC rule. In such instances, the SMF 224-1 canstore the RG/Service ID information for use with usage reports receivedfor UE sessions, and the SMF 224-1 can also send the QoS flow to radioresource mapping information to the gNodeB 212, which can ensure thatcertain QoS flows for UE sessions are established utilizing theappropriate radio resources as identified in the mapping.

A second approach may be provided that is similar to that discussedabove with reference to the first approach, which slight differences.For example, for the second approach, consider that the gNodeB 212 isnot aware of the owner/operator of the radio resources (e.g.,frequencies, bands, etc.) that are to be used for different QoS flows.In this second approach, as part of the RAT data usage report sent bythe gNodeB 212, the gNodeB 212 can include an indication of the radioresource used for different QoS flows, but without an identifier of theenterprise entity/3rd-Party associated with the radio resource. In thissecond approach, an Application Function (AF), Network Exposure Function(NEF), or the OA&M 238 can configure, within CHF 230, a radio resourceto enterprise entity/3rd-party ID mapping 236 (radioresource+enterprise/3rd-party ID mapping) that includes identifier foran enterprise entity or third (3rd) party (e.g., enterprise entity 250)along with all the radio resources owned/operated by the enterpriseentity or the third-party. Generally, SP/MNO owned/operated radioresources may not be identified in charging records, as it may beassumed, unless otherwise identified via an enterprise/3rd-party ID,that radio resources are owned/operated by the SP/MNO and, thus,additional identification of such resources may not be incorporated intocharging records.

The SMF 224-1 can include the radio resource information (e.g., anidentifier for the radio resource) in charging information, such ascharging records, sent to the CHF 230 and the CHF 230, based on theradio resource to enterprise identity/3rd-Party mapping 236, can updatethe owner/operator of a given radio resource in the charging records 234maintained by the CHF 230 utilizing the radioresource+enterprise/3rd-party ID mapping 236 (e.g., performing a lookupon the mapping 236 using the identifier of the radio resource todetermine the enterprise entity/3rd-party ID). In various embodiments,an identifier of a given radio resource utilized by a given UE caninclude any of a radio frequency identifier (e.g. a frequency value (inMHz, GHz, etc.), a center frequency value), a radio frequency range, aradio frequency band identifier, a radio frequency spectrum identifier,a beam identifier, any tag, indicator, and/or the like that mayrepresent a given radio resource (e.g., F1, F2, etc.), combinationsthereof, and/or the like.

For a third approach, the gNodeB 212 can send radio resource informationor an enterprise entity/third-party identifier (e.g., OID) for thespectrum owner/operator (if configured) to the UPF 232-1 in a user planeGeneral Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP-U) extensionheader for data packets of one or more QoS flow(s) for UE 202. In turn,the UPF 232-1 can include this information in usage reports sent to theSMF 224-1 and the SMF 224-1 can generate charging information for the UE202 PDU session, such as charging records including the radio resourceinformation and also the enterprise entity identifier, if available, andcan send the information to the CHF 230. In the third approach, the CHF230, instead of the gNodeB 212, can be configured with radio resource toenterprise entity identifier mapping information such that the CHF 230can update the enterprise entity identifier information in the chargingrecords based on gNodeB 212 provided radio resource information for QoSFlows.

FIGS. 3A-3B and 5A-5B, discussed below, illustrate various operationaldetails associated with the first approach (as illustrated for FIGS.3A-3B) and the third approach (as illustrated for FIGS. 5A-5B).Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, FIGS. 3A and 3B are a message sequencediagram illustrating a call flow 300 associated with providing radioresource ownership indicators for charging records of a charging systemor function utilizing the first approach, as discussed above, accordingto an example embodiment. FIGS. 3A-3B include UE 202, gNodeB 212, AMF222, PCF 226, UDM 228, CHF 230, SMF 224-1 and UPF 232-1 of slice-1231-1, as well as OA&M 238. For the embodiment of FIGS. 3A-3B, considerthat radio resources for a mobile network resource, such as a networkslice, such as for slice-1 231-1, are configured for one or more networkelements to identify a radio frequency (e.g., F1, F2, etc.) for a givenradio resource and that an enterprise entity ID for enterprise entity250 is configured as an OID. However, the example details illustratedfor the embodiment of FIGS. 3A-3B are provided for illustrative purposesonly and are not meant to limit the broad scope of the presentdisclosure; any radio resource identifiers and enterprise entity IDs canbe envisioned within the scope of embodiments herein.

As illustrated at 302, consider at 302 a that OA&M 238 configures thegNodeB 212 with a per-slice radio frequency+owner/operator mapping 302b. As illustrated in FIG. 3A, the mapping 302 b identifies that radiofrequencies F1 and F3 for slice-1 231-1 are associated with (e.g.,owned/operated by) a MNO, which can be identified by a PLMN-IDcomprising a MCC-MNC that uniquely identifies the MNO, and identifiesthat a frequency F2 for slice-1 231-1 is associated with an enterpriseentity as identified by an OID that uniquely identifies the enterpriseentity 250 (not shown in FIGS. 3A-3B). At 306, the UDM 228 is configuredto enable RAT data usage indications for a subscription associated withUE 202 (e.g., a subscription for an enterprise user of enterprise entity250 that operates UE 202, a subscription for UE 202, which may be an IoTdevice, etc.) that is stored within UDM 228. The configuration to enableRAT data usage indications provided for the subscription associated withUE 202 enables the RAT data usage reporting features as describedherein. In some instance, the subscription may include an indication ofwhat traffic types (e.g., QoS flows) may operate on which RAT type,which radio resources (e.g., frequencies), and ownership information forthe radio resources such that the configuration provided for UDM enablesthe reporting of RAT information along with traffic counters (e.g.,volume, time, etc.) for UE 202.

The PCF 226 is typically configured with QoS flow information in whichPCC rules can include the QoS flow information, such as QoS parameters,etc., that are configured in association with RGs (charging keys) andService IDs identified for each of one or more QoS flows that may beestablished for a mobile network. In some embodiments, as shown at 304,the PCF 226 can also be configured with policy information thatidentifies an association between each of one or more QoS flows and acorresponding OID/frequency mapping for each flow. For example, in oneinstance, video flows that may be initiated for UE 202 may be mapped tothe F2/OID (e.g., F2 may be owned/operated by the enterprise entity 250and may cost less than SP/MNO radio resource usage) and audio flows thatmay be initiated for UE 202 may be mapped to the F1/MNC-MCC or theF3/MNC-MCC, such that the gNodeB 212 can ensure that corresponding videoor audio flows are created on the appropriate radio resources. Themapping at 304 may include slice-specific mappings for different networkslice types.

Returning to the present example, as shown at 308, consider that UE 202initiates a registration procedure with AMF 222 (via gNodeB 212). The UE202 registration triggers AMF 222, at 310, to authenticate UE 202 foraccess to the mobile network via the subscription profile for UE 202stored in UDM 228 that contains the RAT data usage indication as enabledfor the UE 202.

Following registration/successful authentication of UE 202, consider at312 that UE 202 initiates PDU session establishment with the network viaa PDU session establishment request that is communicated to AMF 222, viagNodeB 212, which triggers AMF 222, at 314, to establish context for theUE 202 at SMF 224-1 utilizing a Create Session Management (SM) ContextProcedure performed between AMF 222 and SMF 224-1. At 318, SM policycreation for the UE 202 PDU session is performed between PCF 226 and SMF224-1 and N4 session establishment for the UE 202 PDU session is createdby SMF 224-1 via UPF 232-1, as shown at 320. The operations at 318 mayinclude the PCF 226 providing PCC rules to SMF 224-1 during the SMpolicy creation for UE 202, such that the PCC rules can include the QoSflow information, such as a QoS Flow Identifier (QFI), along withRGs/Service IDs identified for each QoS flow. At 322, the SMF 224-1 cancommunicate the QoS flow information to AMF 222 via an N1N2 messagetransfer service communication. Further, as shown at 324, AMF 222performs a PDU session resource setup with gNodeB 212 that includes theQoS flow information.

In some embodiments, if PCF 226 is configured with a QoS flow toenterprise entity ID/radio resource mapping, as discussed for the QoSflow to OID/frequency mapping noted at 306, above, the operations at 318may include the PCF 226 providing PCC rules to SMF 224-1 during the SMpolicy creation for UE 202, such that the PCC rules can include the QoSto OID/frequency mapping information, along with RGs/Service IDsidentified for each QoS flow. In such an embodiment, as shown at 322,the SMF 224-1 can communicate the QoS flow to OID/frequency mappinginformation to AMF 222 via an N1N2 message transfer servicecommunication. Further, as shown at 324, AMF 222 performs a PDU sessionresource setup with gNodeB 212 that includes the QoS flow toOID/frequency mapping information.

In still some embodiments, the PCF 226 can update the OID/frequencymapping information at any time, based on the owner/operator of a givenradio resource changing and/or the mapping of a given QoS flow to aradio resource changing. For example, in some instances, the mapping ofa given QoS flow may be changed from one radio resource to another radioresource (e.g., from one frequency to another frequency). In the SMF224-1, a change of an enterprise/3rd-Party ID (e.g., OID) can result inchargeable events (e.g., as prescribed per 3GPP Technical Specification(TS) 32.255, Sections 5.2.1.6.1/5.2.1.6.2). Further in the SMF 224-1, achange of an enterprise/3rd-Party ID (e.g., OID) for a QoS Flow (e.g.,3GPP TS 32.255 5.2.3.2.2) can trigger the CHF to include additionalcharging information in the charging record/CDR for a given user.

Returning to the present example, a PDU session establishment acceptmessage is communicated to UE 202 (via gNodeB 212), as shown at 326,which completes the PDU session establishment for UE 202. Forembodiments, in which the gNodeB 212 is provided QoS flow toOID/frequency mapping information (e.g., as discussed at 324), thegNodeB 212 can use such mapping information to help ensure that QoSflow(s) that may be created for UE 202 can be created on the appropriateradio resources (e.g., radio frequencies) as identified in the mapping(as shown at 328 of FIG. 3B). For example, at 328 gNodeB 212 canallocate data radio bearers (DRBs) and map QoS flows to DRBs. Based onthe mapping, gNodeB 212 can ensure that the QoS flow for the PDU sessionestablished for the embodiment of FIGS. 3A-3B. Further for theembodiment of FIGS. 3A-3B, consider that the UE 202 PDU session iscreated to utilize the radio resource F2 that is associated with theenterprise entity, as identified by the OID.

Continuing with the present example, consider, at 330, that data trafficfor the PDU session is exchanged between UE 202 and UPF 232-1 (andpotentially one or more data network(s) 240). The data traffic can beGTP-U encapsulated data traffic. The data traffic exchanges can triggerusage reporting by the gNodeB 212, as shown at 332 and 334, and also bythe UPF 232-1, as shown at 336.

In accordance with embodiments herein for the first approach, gNodeB212, which is configured with the radio frequency+owner/operator mapping302 b provides a RAT Data Usage Report message to ANF 222 at 332 thatincludes RAT usage details within a RAT Usage Information IE indicatingradio usage details, such as the radio frequency and the OID associatedwith the radio frequency utilized by the UE 202 for the PDU session. Forexample, in one embodiment, the RAT Data Usage Report message may be aSECONDARY RAT DATA USAGE REPORT, as prescribed by 3GPP TechnicalSpecification (TS) 38.413, Section 9.2.14.1, that includes a SecondaryRAT Usage Report Transfer IE (as prescribed by 3GPP TS 38.413, Section9.3.4.23), that further includes a Secondary RAT Usage Information IE(as prescribed by 3GPP TS 38.413, Section 9.3.1.114) that includes a QoSFlows Usage Report List in which a given QoS Flow Usage Report Item canbe extended, in accordance with embodiments herein, to include new IEsincluding 1) a new Radio Resource IE, and 2) a new Owner/Operator IE.

The new Radio Resource IE can identify the radio resource utilized by aUE for a given QoS flow (e.g., radio frequency F2 for the embodiment ofFIGS. 3A-3B) and the new Owner/Operator IE can identify theowner/operator of the radio resource (e.g., OID=‘250’ for enterpriseentity 250 for the embodiment of FIGS. 3A-3B).

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating example details associatedwith an example SECONDARY RAT DATA USAGE REPORT 400 that can be enhancedto carry radio usage details, such as radio resource ownershipindicators, according to an example embodiment. Among other IEs asprescribed by 3GPP TS 38.413, SECONDARY RAT DATA USAGE REPORT 400includes a Secondary RAT Usage Report Transfer IE 410, that furtherincludes a Secondary RAT Usage Information IE 420 (as prescribed by 3GPPTS 38.413, Section 9.3.1.114) that includes a QoS Flows Usage ReportList IE 430 in which a given QoS Flow Usage Report Item IE 440 includesa QoS Flow Identifier (QFI) IE 441 (e.g., identifying a QFI value forthe data flow of the UE 202 PDU session), a RAT TYPE IE 442 (e.g.,indicating a RAT type of New Radio (NR) for the flow), a QoS Flows TimedReport List IE 443 that can include data usage details for the UE 202PDU session, and the QoS Flow Usage Report Item IE 440 can be extended,in accordance with embodiments herein, to include new IEs for reportingradio usage details including: 1) a new Radio Resource IE 444 that canbe set to identify the radio resource (e.g., F2, in this example)utilized by the UE 202 for the PDU session, and 2) a new Owner/OperatorIE 445 that can be set to identify the owner/operator of the radioresource (e.g., the OID of the enterprise entity 250, in this example)identified in the Radio Resource IE 444.

Returning to the embodiment of FIGS. 3A-3B, as shown at 334, the RATusage details included in the RAT Usage Information IE are furthercommunicated from AMF 222 to SMF 224-1 via anNsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Request message. As shown at 336, SMF224-1 obtains usage reports for the UE 202 PDU session from UPF 232-1.Generally, the SMF 224-1 configures at least one Usage Reporting Rule(URR) in the UPF 232-1 during N4 session establishment (as discussed at320). Based on the policy exchange with PCF 226 (as discussed at 318),the SMF 224-1 knows which URR (identified using a URR ID) corresponds towhich RG/Service ID and may also know which RG/Service ID is associatedwith which QoS flow. In one embodiment, the UPF 232-1 can provide usagereports to SMF 224-1 using a Usage Report IE contained within a PFCPSession Report Request message (as prescribed per 3GPP TS 29.244,Section 7.5.8.3), which can include various usage details for the PDUsession of UE 202, such as URR ID, start time, end time, volumemeasurements, packet details, duration measurements, report periodicityinformation, UE 202 IP address, etc. as prescribed by 3GPP TS 29.244,Section 7.5.5.2, in which the usage details can be utilized by SMF 224-1to generate/update charging information, such as charging records/CDRsfor the UE 202 session. For example, SMF 224-1, after receiving theusage details, can create CDR(s) for the UE 202 PDU session and populatethe CDR(s) with details regarding the enterprise/third-partowner/operator information (e.g., OID, etc.) and, in some instances,(e.g., as discussed for the third approach) radio resource informationbased on the radio usage details obtained from the gNodeB 212/AMF 222and the usage details obtained from UPF 232-1. The SMF 224-1 knows whichUsage Reports map to which QoS flows because the SMF 224-1 configuresthe URR(s) for UPF 232-1, as discussed above. The Usage Report IE can beincluded in other PFCP messages, such as a PFCP Session Deletion Requestor Response message, a PFCP Session Modification Request or Responsemessage, etc.

As shown at 338, the SMF 224-1 correlates the usage reports obtainedfrom the UPF 232-1 along with the OID value for the enterprise entity250 based on reports sent from the gNodeB 212 (via AMF 222) and updatesthe appropriate RG/Service ID information for the usage reports toinclude the OID value for the enterprise entity 250. At 340, the SMF224-1 reports charging information for the UE 202 PDU session to the CHF230, such as charging records/CDRs that include the OID value and, at342, the CHF 230 stores the charging records along with the OID valuefor the enterprise entity 250, which can be utilized to facilitatedifferentiated charging for the UE 202 PDU session for the enterpriseowned/operated radio resources utilized by the UE 202. As shown at 344,the SMF 224-1 responds to AMF 222 with anNsmf_PDUSession_UpdateSMContext Response message.

Thus, as illustrated for the embodiment of FIGS. 3A-3B involving thefirst approach for providing radio resource ownership indicators incharging records for user equipment, the CHF 230 can apply the correctRG for the UE 202 usage considering the radio frequency usage of UE 202and can store the UE 202 usage in charging records in association withthe enterprise entity 250 ID (OID in the present example). The CHF 230can send the charging records to a billing system for further use.

Although not shown in FIGS. 3A-3B, a second approach for providing radioresource ownership indicators in charging records may be provided thatis similar to the approach shown in FIGS. 3A-3B. For example, for thesecond approach, consider that the gNodeB 212 is not aware of theowner/operator of the radio resources (e.g., frequencies, bands, etc.)that are to be used for different QoS flows. In this second approach, aspart of the RAT Data Usage Report message sent by the gNodeB 212 (e.g.,at 332), the gNodeB 212 can include radio usage details, such anindication of the radio resource used for different QoS flows, butwithout an identifier of the enterprise entity/3rd-Party associated withthe radio resource. In this second approach, an AF, NEF, or the OA&M 238can configure, within CHF 230, a radio resource to enterprise entity IDor third-party mapping (e.g., radio resource+enterprise/3rd-party IDmapping 236, as shown in FIG. 2 ) that includes identifier for anenterprise entity and/or third-party (e.g., enterprise entity 250) alongwith all the radio resources owned/operated by the enterpriseentity/third-party. In this second approach, the SMF 224-1 can includethe radio resource information (e.g., an identifier for the radioresource) in charging information (e.g., charging records/CDRs) sent tothe CHF 230 and the CHF 230, based on the radio resource to enterpriseidentity mapping, can update the owner/operator of a given radioresource in the charging records (e.g., charging records 234) maintainedby the CHF 230 utilizing the mapping (e.g., performing a lookup on themapping using the identifier of the radio resource to determine theenterprise entity/3rd-party ID).

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, FIGS. 5A and 5B are a message sequencediagram illustrating a call flow 500 associated with providing radioresource ownership indicators for charging records of a charging systemor function utilizing the third approach, as discussed above, accordingto an example embodiment. FIGS. 5A-5B include UE 202, gNodeB 212, AMF222, PCF 226, UDM 228, CHF 230, SMF 224-1 and UPF 232-1 of slice-1231-1, and an application function (AF) 501. For the embodiment of FIGS.5A-5B, consider that radio resources for a mobile network resource, suchas for network slice-1 231-1, are configured for one or more networkelements to identify a radio frequency (e.g., F1, F2, etc.) for a givenradio resource and that an enterprise entity ID provided for enterpriseentity 250 (not shown in FIGS. 5A-5B) is configured as an OID (e.g.,OID=‘250’). However, the example details illustrated for the embodimentof FIGS. 5A-5B are provided for illustrative purposes only and are notmeant to limit the broad scope of the present disclosure; any radioresource identifiers and enterprise entity IDs can be envisioned withinthe scope of embodiments herein.

For the embodiment of FIGS. 5A-5B involving the third approach forproviding radio resource ownership indicators for charging records,consider at 502 a that AF 501 configures the CHF 230 with a radiofrequency+owner/operator mapping 502 b. The radiofrequency+owner/operator mapping 502 b can be provided on a per-slicebasis (e.g., for each of slice-1 231-1, slice-2 231-2, etc. For example,as illustrated in FIG. 5A, the mapping 502 b may be provided for slice-1231-1 and identifies that radio frequencies F1 and F3 are associatedwith (e.g., owned/operated by) a MNO, which can be identified by PLMN-IDcomprising a MCC-MNC that uniquely identifies the MNO, and identifiesthat a frequency F2 is associated with enterprise entity 250 (not shown)as identified by an OID that uniquely identifies the enterprise entity250 (e.g., OID=‘250’).

At 504, the UDM 228 is configured to enable RAT data usage indicationsfor a subscription associated with UE 202 that is stored within UDM 228.In some embodiments, as discussed above and as shown at 506, the PCF 226can be configured with policy information that identifies an associationbetween each of one or more QoS flows and a corresponding OID/frequencymapping for each flow.

Returning to the present example, as shown at 508, consider that UE 202initiates a registration procedure with AMF 222 (via gNodeB 212). The UE202 registration triggers AMF 222, at 510, to authenticate UE 202 foraccess to the mobile network via the subscription profile for UE 202stored in UDM 228 that contains the RAT data usage indication as enabledfor the UE 202. Following registration/successful authentication of UE202, consider at 512 that UE 202 initiates PDU session establishmentwith the network via a PDU session establishment request that iscommunicated to AMF 222, via gNodeB 212, which triggers AMF 222, at 514,to establish context for the UE 202 at SMF 224-1 utilizing a Create SMContext Procedure performed between AMF 222 and SMF 224-1. At 518, SMpolicy creation for the UE 202 PDU session is performed between PCF 226and SMF 224-1 and N4 session establishment for the UE 202 PDU session iscreated by SMF 224-1 via UPF 232-1, as shown at 520. The operations at518 may include the PCF 226 providing PCC rules to SMF 224-1 during theSM policy creation for UE 202, such that the PCC rules can include theQoS flow information along with RGs/Service IDs identified for each QoSflow. At 522, the SMF 224-1 can communicate the QoS flow information toAMF 222 via an N1N2 message transfer service communication. Further, asshown at 524, AMF 222 performs a PDU session resource setup with gNodeB212 that includes the QoS flow information.

In some embodiments, if PCF 226 is configured with a QoS flow toenterprise entity ID/radio resource mapping, as discussed for the QoSflow to OID/frequency mapping noted at 506, above, the operations at 518may include the PCF 226 providing PCC rules to SMF 224-1 during the SMpolicy creation for UE 202, such that the PCC rules can include the QoSto OID/frequency mapping information, along with RGs/Service IDsidentified for each QoS flow. In such an embodiment, as shown at 522,the SMF 224-1 can communicate the QoS flow to OID/frequency mappinginformation to AMF 222 via an N1N2 message transfer servicecommunication. Further, as shown at 524, AMF 222 performs a PDU sessionresource setup with gNodeB 212 that includes the QoS flow toOID/frequency mapping information.

Returning to the present example, a PDU session establishment acceptmessage is communicated to UE 202 (via gNodeB 212), as shown at 526,which completes the PDU session establishment for UE 202. Forembodiments, in which the gNodeB 212 is provided QoS flow toOID/frequency mapping information (e.g., as discussed at 524), thegNodeB 212 can use such mapping information to help ensure that QoSflow(s) that may be created for UE 202 can be created on the appropriateradio resources (e.g., radio frequencies) as identified in the mapping(as shown at 528 of FIG. 5B). For the embodiment of FIGS. 5A-5B,consider that the UE 202 PDU session is created to utilize the radioresource F2 that is associated with the enterprise entity 250, asidentified by the OID.

Continuing with the present example, consider, at 530 a and 530 c, thatdata traffic for the PDU session is exchanged between UE 202 and UPF232-1 (and potentially one or more data network(s) 240). The datatraffic exchanges can trigger the gNodeB 212 to include, as shown at 530b, the identifier for the frequency ‘F2’ and OID information for theenterprise entity 250 in a GTP-U header extension for each data packetcommunicated from the gNodeB 212 to the UPF 232-1.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate various example details associated with aGTP-U extension header that can be enhanced to carry radio resourceownership indicators for a UE data flow, according to an exampleembodiment. For example, FIG. 6A is a simplified diagram illustratingexample details associated with a GTP-U header 600 including a GTP-Uextension header 610 that may be used to carry radio resource ownershipindicators for a UE data flow according to an example embodiment. FIG.6B is a simplified diagram illustrating example details associated witha GTP-U encapsulated data packet 650 (typically referred to as a G-PDU)that includes an Internet Protocol (IP)/User Datagram Protocol (UDP)header, 660, GTP-U header 600 including GTP-U extension header 610, anda transport PDU (T-PDU) 670 that carries user data for the UE 202 PDUsession. Example details associated with FIGS. 6A and 6B are discussedwith reference to operations illustrated for the embodiment of FIGS.5A-5B.

In one example, for the third approach discussed for the embodiment ofFIGS. 5A-5B, gNodeB 212 may include within a GTP-U encapsulated datapacket, such as GTP-U encapsulated data packet 650 of FIG. 6B, a GTP-Uheader 600 that includes GTP-U extension header 610, as shown in FIG.6A, and forward the GTP-U encapsulated data packet 650 to UPF 232-1.Techniques illustrated for the embodiment of FIGS. 5A-5B may includedefining a new GTP-U extension header type, referred to herein as a‘Radio Resource Ownership’ header type, which can be set to a binaryvalue ‘1100 0100’ (or any other binary value that is not currentlydefined in 3GPP standards) to indicate the Radio Resource OwnershipGTP-U extension header type.

GTP-U encapsulation is generally defined in 3GPP TS 29.281. In at leastone embodiment, GTP-U header 600 may include various fields including,but not limited to: an Extension Header Flag (E) field 601, a MessageType field 602, Length fields 603, Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID)fields 604, and a Next Extension Header Type field 605. Extension HeaderFlag field 601 may be set ‘1’ to indicate the presence of an extensionheader (e.g., GTP-U extension header 610). Message Type field 602 may beset to a message type ‘255’ indicating a G-PDU packet, Length fields 603may be set to a length of a payload of encapsulated user data, typicallyreferred to as a Transport-PDU (T-PDU), and TEID fields 604 may be setas defined by 3GPP TS 29.281. For example, TEID fields 604 may be set tovalues that identify UPF 232-1 as the tunnel endpoint for GTP-Uencapsulated data packet 650 for a GTP-U tunnel between gNodeB 212 andUPF 232-1 established for the UE 202 session. Similarly, TEID fields 604can be set to values that identify gNodeB 212 for GTP-U encapsulateddata packets sent from UPF 232-1 to gNodeB 212.

Next Extension Header Type field 605 may be set to binary ‘1100 0100’(or any other unused value) to indicate that GTP-U extension header 610is of the type ‘Radio Resource Ownership’ that can be used to identify aradio resource and an owner/operator of the radio resource for the UE202 PDU session.

GTP-U extension header 610 may include various fields including a Lengthfield 611, a number of Content fields 612 (including a first Contentfield 612 a and a second Content field 612 b), and a Next ExtensionHeader Type field 613. In at least one embodiment, Length field 611 forthe first octet of GTP-U extension header 610 may be set to hexadecimal‘0x01’ (binary ‘0000 0001’) to indicate the length of GTP-U extensionheader 610 is 4-bytes, the first Content field 612 a may be set to avalue (e.g., a binary value, etc.) that can be used to identify theradio resource utilized by UE 202 for the PDU session, ‘F2’ in thisexample, the second Content field 612 b may be set to a value thatindicates the owner/operator of the radio resource identified in thefirst Content field 612 a, the OID for the enterprise entity 250 in thisexample (e.g., OID=‘250’), and Next Extension Header Type field 613 mayor may not be set (depending on whether or not another GTP-U extensionheader follows GTP-U extension header 610).

In various embodiments, any number and/or combination of other bits offirst Content field 612 a and/or second Content field 612 b may be setto indicate any combination of an identifier for a radio resource and anowner/operator associated with the radio resource.

As illustrated in FIG. 6B, GTP-U encapsulated data packet 650 that maybe forwarded from gNodeB 212 to UPF 232-1 includes IP/UDP header 660[containing source/destination IP addresses and source/destinationports, as per 3GPP TS 29.281], GTP-U header 600 including GTP-Uextension header 510 of the type ‘Radio Resource Ownership’ includingthe radio resource identifier (F2, in this example) in the first Contentfield 612 a and the owner/operator identifier (OID, in this example) inthe second Content field 612 b, and a T-PDU 670 including user data forthe UE 202 PDU session. The combination of GTP-U header 600 and theT-PDU 670 typically represents a G-PDU.

The UPF 232-1 can utilize the radio resource identifier and theowner/operator identifier included in GTP-U data packets for the UE 202session in order to correlate data usage at the UPF 232-1 for the UE 202PDU session with the appropriate radio resource and owner/operatorinformation associated with the UE 202 PDU session.

For the embodiment of FIGS. 5A-5B, the data traffic exchanges for the UE202 PDU session can trigger RAT data usage reporting by the gNodeB 212toward UPF 232-1, as shown at 532. The RAT data usage reporting by thegNodeB 212 at 432 can include the gNodeB communicating an uplink (UL)PDU Session Information message to UPF 232-1 that includes an UL PDUSESSION INFORMATION FRAME, as prescribed by 3GPP TS 38.415 of a PDUType=1, in which QoS flow usage reporting items that are used forreporting RAT data usage for the UE 202 PDU session can be extended toinclude: 1) a new Radio Resource IE that can be set to identify theradio resource utilized by the UE 202 for the PDU session, and 2) a newOwner/Operator IE that can be set to identify the owner/operator of theradio resource.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating example details associatedwith an example UL PDU SESSION INFORMATION FRAME 700 that can beenhanced to carry radio resource ownership indicators, according to anexample embodiment. Among other IEs as prescribed by 3GPP TS 38.415, ULPDU SESSION INFORMATION FRAME 700 may include a QFI IE 701 through whichvarious QoS usage details can be reported, a new Radio Resource IE 702that can be set to identifying the radio resource utilized by the UE 202for the PDU session, and a new Owner/Operator IE 703 that can be set toidentify the owner/operator of the radio resource identified in theRadio Resource IE 702.

Returning to the operations for the embodiment of FIG. 5B as shown at534, the UPF 232-1 can send usage reports to the SMF that include usagedetails for the UE 202 PDU session as typically generated by the UPF(e.g., as discussed above at 336) and can additionally include the RATdata usage details reported by gNodeB 212 at 532, such as thevolume/count of data on each QFI, along with the radio resourceidentifier (radio frequency F2, in this example) and the identifier forthe owner/operator of the radio resource (OID for the enterprise entity250, in this example).

As shown at 536, the SMF 224-1 can report charging information to theCHF 230, such as sending a Charging Data Request message to the CHF 230including the usage reports along with the radio resource identifier(radio frequency F2, in this example) and the identifier for theowner/operator of the radio resource (OID for the enterprise entity 250,in this example) via one or more CDR(s), which triggers the CHF 230, asshown at 538 to update CDRs stored for the UE 202 PDU session to includethe owner/operator identifier for the corresponding radio resource, asidentified based on the radio frequency+owner/operator mapping 502 bconfigured for the CHF

In one instance, a new Information Element (IE), referred to herein as a‘RAN Resource Data Usage Report’ IE, can be utilized to send radioresource (e.g., frequency) data usage details to the CHF 230.

For example, on receiving radio resource data usage details from the RAN(via AMF 222 as shown for the embodiment of FIGS. 3A-3B or via the UPF232-1 as shown for the embodiment of FIGS. 5A-5B), the SMF 224-1 sendsthis information to the CHF 230 and can utilize the new RAN ResourceData Usage Report IE to send this information. For example, the SMF224-1 can send a Charging Data Request message to the CHF, as prescribedat least by 3GPP TS 32.255, Section 5.2.2.2, for sending Usage Reportsin which the new RAN Resource Data Usage Report IE can be included inthe PDU Session Charging Information IE (as prescriber per 32.255,Section 6.2.1.2) of the Charging Data Request message (32.255, Section6.1.1.2). In one instance, the RAN Resource Data Usage Report IE may besimilar to the Secondary RAT Data Usage Report Transfer IE and theSecondary RAT Usage Information IE (as discussed above for FIG. 4 ) withsome additional parameters, such as an Owner/Operator ID IE, and a RadioResource IE as shown below in TABLE 1, which illustrates an examplestructure of the new RAN Resource Data Usage Report IE that may beutilized to facilitate various features described herein.

TABLE 1 Structure of RAN Frequency Usage Report Information ElementCategory Description NG RAN RAT Type O_(C) This field holds the value ofRAT Type, as provided by the NG-RAN. QoS Flows O_(C) This filed holds alist of containers Usage Reports per QoS Flow Identifier (QFI) withvolumes reported, each container is time stamped. QoS Flow ID O_(M) Thisfield holds the QFI. Start Timestamp O_(C) This field holds the starttimestamp of the collected usage. End Timestamp O_(C) This field holdsthe end timestamp of the collected usage. Downlink Volume O_(C) Thisfield holds the amount of used volume in the downlink (DL) direction(from the mobile network to a given UE). Uplink Volume O_(C) This fieldholds the amount of volume used in the uplink (UL) direction (from agiven UE to the mobile network). Owner/Operator ID O_(C) This fieldholds the identifier of the enterprise entity or 3rd-partyowner/operator of a radio resource. Radio Resource O_(C) This fieldholds the identifier of a radio resource (e.g., frequency, band, beamidentifier, etc.)

Referring to FIG. 8 , FIG. 8 is a flow chart depicting a method 800according to an example embodiment. In at least one embodiment, method800 illustrates example operations that may be performed, at least inpart, by a session management node, such as SMF 224-1 of FIG. 2 , inorder to provide radio resource ownership indicators for chargingrecords of a charging system or function, according to an exampleembodiment.

At 802, the method can include determining, by a session management nodeof a mobile network, that a user equipment is utilizing a particularradio resource of a mobile network resource for a PDU session of theuser equipment in which the mobile network resource is capable of beingutilized via a plurality of radio resources and the particular radioresources is associated with an enterprise entity. In one instance, themobile network resource is a network slice of the mobile network that isoperated by a mobile network operator that is not the enterprise entity.The particular radio resource can be at least one of a radio frequencythat is associated with the enterprise entity, a radio frequency bandthat is associated with the enterprise entity; and a radio beamrepresented by a beam identifier.

At 804, the method can include reporting charging information for thePDU session of the user equipment to a charging function of the mobilenetwork to facilitate storing a charging record for the user equipmentin which the charging record includes an identifier of the enterpriseentity that is associated with the particular radio resource. In variousembodiments, the identifier of the enterprise entity can be any of anOID, an OUI, or an RCOI.

In one instance, the determining may include obtaining, by the sessionmanagement node of the mobile network, radio usage details from a radionode of the mobile network (e.g., RAT usage details as shown at 332/334of FIG. 3B for the first approach discussed herein reported via the RATUsage Information IE) in which the radio usage details includes theidentifier of the enterprise entity and an identifier of the particularradio resource that the user equipment is utilizing, and obtaining, bythe session management node, a usage report from a user plane functionof the mobile network in which the usage report includes usage detailsfor the PDU session of the user equipment. In this instance, the radionode can be configured with a mapping that includes the identifier ofthe enterprise entity in association with the identifier of theparticular radio resource (e.g., as shown at 302 b of FIG. 3A). Furtherin this instance, reporting the charging information for the PDU sessionof the user equipment can include reporting the charging record and theidentifier of the enterprise entity.

In another instance, the charging function of the mobile network canconfigured with a mapping that identifies the particular radio resourcein association with the identifier of the enterprise entity (e.g., forthe second approach discussed herein). In this instance, the determiningcan include obtaining, by the session management node of the mobilenetwork, radio usage details from a radio node of the mobile network inwhich the radio usage details includes the identifier of the particularradio resource that the user equipment is utilizing and obtaining, bythe session management node, a usage report from a user plane functionof the mobile network in which the usage report includes usage detailsfor the PDU session of the user equipment. In this instance, reportingthe charging information for the PDU session of the user equipment caninclude reporting the charging record and the identifier of theparticular radio resource.

In yet another instance (e.g., as discussed for the third approach asillustrated in FIGS. 5A-5B), the method may include obtaining, by aradio node of the mobile network, a data packet from a user equipmentvia the particular radio resource; providing, by the radio node of themobile network, the identifier of the enterprise entity and anidentifier of the particular radio resource in a header of a datapacket; and forwarding the data packet toward a user plane function ofthe mobile network (e.g., as discussed at 530 a, 530 b, and 530 c ofFIG. 5B. In this instance, the determining may include obtaining, by thesession management node of the mobile network, a report from the userplane function of the mobile network in which the report includes usagedetails for the PDU session of the user equipment, the identifier of theparticular radio resource, and the identifier of the enterprise entity(e.g., as shown at 534 of FIG. 5B). Further in this instance, reportingthe charging information for the PDU session of the user equipment caninclude reporting the usage details for the PDU session of the userequipment, the identifier of the particular radio resource, and theidentifier of the enterprise entity (e.g., as shown at 536 of FIG. 5B).

Accordingly, various features provided by embodiments herein mayinclude, but not be limited to: facilitating the configuration of radioresource to enterprise/3rd party owner/operator mapping information(e.g., frequency band and OID mapping) on CHF 230 from an AF/NEF/OA&M;facilitating the configuration of radio resource to enterprise/3rd partyowner/operator mapping information (e.g., frequency band and OIDmapping) on the gNodeB 212 from an AF/NEF/OA&M; the PCF 226 sending PCCrules specifying an enterprise/3rd party owner/operator of radioresources for various QoS flows; the PCF 226 changing the owner/operatorID for a given QoS Flow at any time; the PCF 226 and/or the CHF 230having suitable rating groups for charging when radio resources areowned by an enterprise/3rd-party and physical resources (e.g., NetworkFunctions (NFs) and RAN function) are owned by an SP/MNO; the gNodeB 212sending RAT usage details to the SMF 224-1 (via AMF 222) including radioresource and owner/operator information; the gNodeB 212 sending radioresource and owner/operator inform on the N3 interface to the UPF 232-1in a GTP-U extension header; the gNodeB 212 sending RAT data usagedetails to the UPF 232-1 via UL PDU Session Information, the UPF 232-1sending the RAT data usage to the SMF 224-1 as part of usage reports,and the CHF 230 updating charging records to include the owner/operatorinformation for an enterprise/3rd-party based on the radio resourceidentified; the SMF 224-1 sending radio resource andenterprise/3rd-party owner/operator identifying information to the CHF230; extending the PDU Session Charging Information IE of a ChargingData Request with the new RAN Resource Usage Report IE; in the SMF224-1, a change of an enterprise/3rd-Party ID (e.g., OID) can result inchargeable events (e.g., as prescribed per 3GPP TS 32.255, Sections5.2.1.6.1/5.2.1.6.2); in the SMF 224-1, a change of anenterprise/3rd-Party ID (e.g., OID) for a QoS Flow (e.g., 3GPP TS 32.2555.2.3.2.2) can trigger the CHF 230 to include additional charginginformation in the charging record/CDR for a given user

Referring to FIG. 9 , FIG. 9 illustrates a hardware block diagram of acomputing device 900 that may perform functions associated withoperations discussed herein. In various embodiments, a computing deviceor apparatus, such as computing device 900 or any combination ofcomputing devices 900, may be configured as any entity/entities asdiscussed herein in order to perform operations of the varioustechniques discussed herein, such as, for example, AMF 222, SMF 224-1,PCF 226, UDM 228, CHF 230, UPF 232-1, and/or any other network elementdiscussed for embodiments herein.

In at least one embodiment, computing device 900 may be any apparatusthat may include one or more processor(s) 902, one or more memoryelement(s) 904, storage 906, a bus 908, one or more network processorunit(s) 910 interconnected with one or more network input/output (I/O)interface(s) 912, one or more I/O interface(s) 914, and control logic920. In various embodiments, instructions associated with logic forcomputing device 900 can overlap in any manner and are not limited tothe specific allocation of instructions and/or operations describedherein.

In at least one embodiment, processor(s) 902 is/are at least onehardware processor configured to execute various tasks, operationsand/or functions for computing device 900 as described herein accordingto software and/or instructions configured for computing device 900.Processor(s) 902 (e.g., hardware processor(s)) can execute any type ofinstructions associated with data to achieve the operations detailedherein. In one example, processor(s) 902 can transform an element or anarticle (e.g., data, information) from one state or thing to anotherstate or thing. Any of potential processing elements, microprocessors,digital signal processor, baseband signal processor, modem, PHY,controllers, systems, managers, logic, and/or machines described hereincan be construed as being encompassed within the broad term ‘processor’.

In at least one embodiment, memory element(s) 904 and/or storage 906is/are configured to store data, information, software, and/orinstructions associated with computing device 900 (e.g., radio resourceto owner/operator mappings, charging records, etc.), and/or logicconfigured for memory element(s) 904 and/or storage 906. For example,any logic described herein (e.g., control logic 920) can, in variousembodiments, be stored for computing device 900 using any combination ofmemory element(s) 904 and/or storage 906. Note that in some embodiments,storage 906 can be consolidated with memory element(s) 904 (or viceversa), or can overlap/exist in any other suitable manner.

In at least one embodiment, bus 908 can be configured as an interfacethat enables one or more elements of computing device 900 to communicatein order to exchange information and/or data. Bus 908 can be implementedwith any architecture designed for passing control, data and/orinformation between processors, memory elements/storage, peripheraldevices, and/or any other hardware and/or software components that maybe configured for computing device 900. In at least one embodiment, bus908 may be implemented as a fast kernel-hosted interconnect, potentiallyusing shared memory between processes (e.g., logic), which can enableefficient communication paths between the processes.

In various embodiments, network processor unit(s) 910 may enablecommunications (wired and/or wireless) between computing device 900 andother systems, entities, etc., via network I/O interface(s) 912 tofacilitate operations discussed for various embodiments describedherein. In various embodiments, network processor unit(s) 910 can beconfigured as a combination of hardware and/or software, such as one ormore Ethernet driver(s) and/or controller(s) or interface cards, FibreChannel (e.g., optical) driver(s) and/or controller(s), wirelessreceivers/transmitters/transceivers, baseband processor(s)/modem(s),and/or other similar network interface driver(s) and/or controller(s)now known or hereafter developed to enable communications betweencomputing device 900 and other systems, entities, etc. to facilitateoperations for various embodiments described herein. In variousembodiments, network I/O interface(s) 912 can be configured as one ormore Ethernet port(s), Fibre Channel ports, and/or any other I/Oport(s), and/or antennas/antenna array(s) now known or hereafterdeveloped. Thus, the network processor unit(s) 910 and/or network I/Ointerface(s) 912 may include suitable interfaces for receiving,transmitting, and/or otherwise communicating (in a wired and/or wirelessmanner) data and/or information in a network environment.

I/O interface(s) 914 allow for input and output of data and/orinformation with other entities that may be connected to computingdevice 900. For example, I/O interface(s) 914 may provide a connectionto external devices such as a keyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/orany other suitable input device now known or hereafter developed. Insome instances, external devices can also include portable computerreadable (non-transitory) storage media such as database systems, thumbdrives, portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards. In stillsome instances, external devices can be a mechanism to display data to auser, such as, for example, a computer monitor, a display screen, or thelike.

In various embodiments, control logic 920 can include instructions that,when executed, cause processor(s) 902 to perform operations, which caninclude, but not be limited to, providing overall control operations ofcomputing device; interacting with other entities, systems, etc.described herein; maintaining and/or interacting with stored data,information, parameters, etc. (e.g., memory element(s), storage, datastructures, databases, tables, etc.); combinations thereof; and/or thelike to facilitate various operations for embodiments described herein.

For example, in at least one embodiment in which computing device isimplemented as a session management node (e.g., SMF 224-1), the controllogic can include instructions that, when executed, cause processor(s)902 to perform operations functions including determining that a userequipment is utilizing a particular radio resource of a mobile networkresource for a PDU session of the user equipment in which the mobilenetwork resource is capable of being utilized via a plurality of radioresources and the particular radio resources is associated with anenterprise entity; and reporting charging information for the PDUsession of the user equipment to a charging function of the mobilenetwork to facilitate storing a charging record for the user equipment,wherein the charging record includes an identifier of the enterpriseentity that is associated with the particular radio resource.

Referring to FIG. 10 , FIG. 10 illustrates a hardware block diagram of aradio device 1000 that may perform functions associated with operationsdiscussed herein. In various embodiments, a radio device or apparatus,such as radio device 1000 or any combination of radio devices 1000, maybe configured as any radio node/nodes as depicted herein in order toperform operations of the various techniques discussed herein, such asoperations that may be performed by gNodeB 212, according to an exampleembodiment.

In at least one embodiment, radio device 1000 may be any apparatus thatmay include one or more processor(s) 1002, one or more memory element(s)1004, storage 1006, a bus 1008, a baseband processor or modem 1010, oneor more radio RF transceiver(s) 1012, one or more antennas or antennaarrays 1014, one or more I/O interface(s) 1016, and control logic 1020.

The one or more processor(s) 1002, one or more memory element(s) 1004,storage 1006, bus 1008, and I/O interface(s) 1016 may beconfigured/implemented in any manner described herein, such as describedherein at least with reference to FIG. 9 .

The RF transceiver(s) 1012 may perform RF transmission and RF receptionof wireless signals via antenna(s)/antenna array(s) 1014, and thebaseband processor (modem) 1010 performs baseband modulation anddemodulation, etc. associated with such signals to enable wirelesscommunications for radio device 1000.

In various embodiments, control logic 1020, can include instructionsthat, when executed, cause processor(s) 1002 to perform operations,which can include, but not be limited to, providing overall controloperations of radio device 1000; interacting with other entities,systems, etc. described herein; maintaining and/or interacting withstored data, information, parameters, etc. (e.g., memory element(s),storage, data structures, databases, tables, etc.); combinationsthereof; and/or the like to facilitate various operations forembodiments described herein.

The programs described herein (e.g., control logic 920 of computingdevice 900 and/or control logic 1020 of radio device 1000) may beidentified based upon application(s) for which they are implemented in aspecific embodiment. However, it should be appreciated that anyparticular program nomenclature herein is used merely for convenience;thus, embodiments herein should not be limited to use(s) solelydescribed in any specific application(s) identified and/or implied bysuch nomenclature.

In various embodiments, any entity or apparatus as described herein maystore data/information in any suitable volatile and/or non-volatilememory item (e.g., magnetic hard disk drive, solid state hard drive,semiconductor storage device, random access memory (RAM), read onlymemory (ROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM),application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.), software, logic(fixed logic, hardware logic, programmable logic, analog logic, digitallogic), hardware, and/or in any other suitable component, device,element, and/or object as may be appropriate. Any of the memory itemsdiscussed herein should be construed as being encompassed within thebroad term ‘memory element’. Data/information being tracked and/or sentto one or more entities as discussed herein could be provided in anydatabase, table, and register, list, cache, storage, and/or storagestructure: all of which can be referenced at any suitable timeframe. Anysuch storage options may also be included within the broad term ‘memoryelement’ as used herein.

Note that in certain example implementations, operations as set forthherein may be implemented by logic encoded in one or more tangible mediathat is capable of storing instructions and/or digital information andmay be inclusive of non-transitory tangible media and/or non-transitorycomputer readable storage media (e.g., embedded logic provided in: anASIC, digital signal processing (DSP) instructions, software[potentially inclusive of object code and source code], etc.) forexecution by one or more processor(s), and/or other similar machine,etc. Generally, memory element(s) (e.g., memory element(s) 904 ofcomputing device 900 and memory element(s) 1004 of radio device 1000)and/or storage (e.g., storage 906 of computing device 900 and storage1006 of radio device 1000) can store data, software, code, instructions(e.g., processor instructions), logic, parameters, combinations thereof,and/or the like used for operations described herein. This includesmemory element(s) 904/1004 and/or storage 906/1006 being able to storedata, software, code, instructions (e.g., processor instructions),logic, parameters, combinations thereof, or the like that are executedto carry out operations in accordance with teachings of the presentdisclosure.

In some instances, software of the present embodiments may be availablevia a non-transitory computer useable medium (e.g., magnetic or opticalmediums, magneto-optic mediums, CD-ROM, DVD, memory devices, etc.) of astationary or portable program product apparatus, downloadable file(s),file wrapper(s), object(s), package(s), container(s), and/or the like.In some instances, non-transitory computer readable storage media mayalso be removable. For example, a removable hard drive may be used formemory/storage in some implementations. Other examples may includeoptical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, and smart cards that can beinserted and/or otherwise connected to a computing device for transferonto another computer readable storage medium.

In one form, a computer-implemented method is provided that may includedetermining, by a session management node of a mobile network, that auser equipment is utilizing a particular radio resource of a mobilenetwork resource for a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session of the userequipment, wherein the mobile network resource is capable of beingutilized via a plurality of radio resources and the particular radioresources is associated with an enterprise entity; and reportingcharging information for the PDU session of the user equipment to acharging function of the mobile network to facilitate storing a chargingrecord for the user equipment that is to include an identifier of theenterprise entity that is associated with the particular radio resource.

In various instances, the identifier of the enterprise entity is one ofa Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) Object Identifier (OID);an Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI); or a Roaming ConsortiumOrganizational Identifier (RCOI).

In at least one instance, the mobile network resource is a network sliceof the mobile network that is operated by a mobile network operator thatis not the enterprise entity. In one instance, the particular radioresource is at least one of a radio frequency that is associated withthe enterprise entity; a radio frequency band that is associated withthe enterprise entity; and a radio beam represented by a beamidentifier.

In one instance, the determining includes obtaining, by the sessionmanagement node of the mobile network, radio usage details from a radionode of the mobile network, the radio usage details comprising theidentifier of the enterprise entity and an identifier of the particularradio resource that the user equipment is utilizing, wherein the radionode is configured with a mapping that includes the identifier of theenterprise entity in association with the identifier of the particularradio resource; and obtaining, by the session management node, a usagereport from a user plane function of the mobile network, the usagereport comprising usage details for the PDU session of the userequipment. In such an instance, reporting the charging information forthe PDU session of the user equipment includes reporting the chargingrecord and the identifier of the enterprise entity.

In one instance, the charging function of the mobile network isconfigured with a mapping that identifies the particular radio resourcein association with the identifier of the enterprise entity. For such aninstance, the determining includes obtaining, by the session managementnode of the mobile network, radio usage details from a radio node of themobile network, the radio usage details comprising the identifier of theparticular radio resource that the user equipment is utilizing; andobtaining, by the session management node, a usage report from a userplane function of the mobile network, the usage report comprising usagedetails for the PDU session of the user equipment. Further for such aninstance, reporting the charging information for the PDU session of theuser equipment includes reporting the charging record and the identifierof the particular radio resource.

In one instance, the method may include obtaining, by a radio node ofthe mobile network, a data packet from the user equipment via theparticular radio resource; providing, by the radio node of the mobilenetwork, the identifier of the enterprise entity and an identifier ofthe particular radio resource in a header of the data packet; andforwarding the data packet toward a user plane function of the mobilenetwork. For such an instance, the determining includes obtaining, bythe session management node of the mobile network, a report from theuser plane function of the mobile network, the report comprising usagedetails for the PDU session of the user equipment, the identifier of theparticular radio resource, and the identifier of the enterprise entity.Further for such an instance, reporting the charging information for thePDU session of the user equipment includes reporting the usage detailsfor the PDU session of the user equipment, the identifier of theparticular radio resource, and the identifier of the enterprise entity.

In various instances, the session management node may be a 3GPP SessionManagement Function (SMF).

Variations and Implementations

Embodiments described herein may include one or more networks, which canrepresent a series of points and/or network elements of interconnectedcommunication paths for receiving and/or transmitting messages (e.g.,packets of information) that propagate through the one or more networks.These network elements offer communicative interfaces that facilitatecommunications between the network elements. A network can include anynumber of hardware and/or software elements coupled to (and incommunication with) each other through a communication medium. Suchnetworks can include, but are not limited to, any local area network(LAN), virtual LAN (VLAN), wide area network (WAN) (e.g., the Internet),software defined WAN (SD-WAN), wireless local area (WLA) access network,wireless wide area (WWA) access network, metropolitan area network(MAN), Intranet, Extranet, virtual private network (VPN), Low PowerNetwork (LPN), Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN), Machine to Machine(M2M) network, Internet of Things (IoT) network, Ethernetnetwork/switching system, any other appropriate architecture and/orsystem that facilitates communications in a network environment, and/orany suitable combination thereof.

Networks through which communications propagate can use any suitabletechnologies for communications including wireless communications (e.g.,4G/5G/nG, IEEE 802.11 (e.g., Wi-Fi®/Wi-Fi6®), IEEE 802.16 (e.g.,Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)),Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), Near Field Communication (NFC),Bluetooth™ mm.wave, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), etc.), and/or wiredcommunications (e.g., T1 lines, T3 lines, digital subscriber lines(DSL), Ethernet, Fibre Channel, etc.). Generally, any suitable means ofcommunications may be used such as electric, sound, light, infrared,and/or radio to facilitate communications through one or more networksin accordance with embodiments herein. Communications, interactions,operations, etc. as discussed for various embodiments described hereinmay be performed among entities that may directly or indirectlyconnected utilizing any algorithms, communication protocols, interfaces,etc. (proprietary and/or non-proprietary) that allow for the exchange ofdata and/or information.

In various example implementations, any entity or apparatus for variousembodiments described herein can encompass network elements (which caninclude virtualized network elements, functions, etc.) such as, forexample, network appliances, forwarders, routers, servers, switches,gateways, bridges, load balancers, firewalls, processors, modules, radioreceivers/transmitters, and/or any other suitable device, component,element, or object operable to exchange information that facilitates orotherwise helps to facilitate various operations in a networkenvironment as described for various embodiments herein. Note that withthe examples provided herein, interaction may be described in terms ofone, two, three, or four entities. However, this has been done forpurposes of clarity, simplicity and example only. The examples providedshould not limit the scope or inhibit the broad teachings of systems,networks, etc. described herein as potentially applied to a myriad ofother architectures.

Communications in a network environment can be referred to herein as‘messages’, ‘messaging’, ‘signaling’, ‘data’, ‘content’, ‘objects’,‘requests’, ‘queries’, ‘responses’, ‘replies’, etc. which may beinclusive of packets. As referred to herein and in the claims, the term‘packet’ may be used in a generic sense to include packets, frames,segments, datagrams, and/or any other generic units that may be used totransmit communications in a network environment. Generally, a packet isa formatted unit of data that can contain control or routing information(e.g., source and destination address, source and destination port,etc.) and data, which is also sometimes referred to as a ‘payload’,‘data payload’, and variations thereof. In some embodiments, control orrouting information, management information, or the like can be includedin packet fields, such as within header(s) and/or trailer(s) of packets.Internet Protocol (IP) addresses discussed herein and in the claims caninclude any IP version 4 (IPv4) and/or IP version 6 (IPv6) addresses.

To the extent that embodiments presented herein relate to the storage ofdata, the embodiments may employ any number of any conventional or otherdatabases, data stores or storage structures (e.g., files, databases,data structures, data or other repositories, etc.) to store information.

Note that in this Specification, references to various features (e.g.,elements, structures, nodes, modules, components, engines, logic, steps,operations, functions, characteristics, etc.) included in ‘oneembodiment’, ‘example embodiment’, ‘an embodiment’, ‘anotherembodiment’, ‘certain embodiments’, ‘some embodiments’, ‘variousembodiments’, ‘other embodiments’, ‘alternative embodiment’, and thelike are intended to mean that any such features are included in one ormore embodiments of the present disclosure, but may or may notnecessarily be combined in the same embodiments. Note also that amodule, engine, client, controller, function, logic or the like as usedherein in this Specification, can be inclusive of an executable filecomprising instructions that can be understood and processed on aserver, computer, processor, machine, compute node, combinationsthereof, or the like and may further include library modules loadedduring execution, object files, system files, hardware logic, softwarelogic, or any other executable modules.

It is also noted that the operations and steps described with referenceto the preceding figures illustrate only some of the possible scenariosthat may be executed by one or more entities discussed herein. Some ofthese operations may be deleted or removed where appropriate, or thesesteps may be modified or changed considerably without departing from thescope of the presented concepts. In addition, the timing and sequence ofthese operations may be altered considerably and still achieve theresults taught in this disclosure. The preceding operational flows havebeen offered for purposes of example and discussion. Substantialflexibility is provided by the embodiments in that any suitablearrangements, chronologies, configurations, and timing mechanisms may beprovided without departing from the teachings of the discussed concepts.

As used herein, unless expressly stated to the contrary, use of thephrase ‘at least one of’, ‘one or more of’, ‘and/or’, variationsthereof, or the like are open-ended expressions that are bothconjunctive and disjunctive in operation for any and all possiblecombination of the associated listed items. For example, each of theexpressions ‘at least one of X, Y and Z’, ‘at least one of X, Y or Z’,‘one or more of X, Y and Z’, ‘one or more of X, Y or Z’ and ‘X, Y and/orZ’ can mean any of the following: 1) X, but not Y and not Z; 2) Y, butnot X and not Z; 3) Z, but not X and not Y; 4) X and Y, but not Z; 5) Xand Z, but not Y; 6) Y and Z, but not X; or 7) X, Y, and Z.

Additionally, unless expressly stated to the contrary, the terms‘first’, ‘second’, ‘third’, etc., are intended to distinguish theparticular nouns they modify (e.g., element, condition, node, module,activity, operation, etc.). Unless expressly stated to the contrary, theuse of these terms is not intended to indicate any type of order, rank,importance, temporal sequence, or hierarchy of the modified noun. Forexample, ‘first X’ and ‘second X’ are intended to designate two ‘X’elements that are not necessarily limited by any order, rank,importance, temporal sequence, or hierarchy of the two elements. Furtheras referred to herein, ‘at least one of’ and ‘one or more of’ can berepresented using the ‘(s)’ nomenclature (e.g., one or more element(s)).

One or more advantages described herein are not meant to suggest thatany one of the embodiments described herein necessarily provides all ofthe described advantages or that all the embodiments of the presentdisclosure necessarily provide any one of the described advantages.Numerous other changes, substitutions, variations, alterations, and/ormodifications may be ascertained to one skilled in the art and it isintended that the present disclosure encompass all such changes,substitutions, variations, alterations, and/or modifications as fallingwithin the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: determining, by a sessionmanagement node of a mobile network, that a user equipment is utilizinga particular radio resource of a mobile network resource for a ProtocolData Unit (PDU) session of the user equipment, wherein the mobilenetwork resource is capable of being utilized via a plurality of radioresources and the particular radio resource is associated with anenterprise entity and the determining is based, at least in part, onradio usage details from a radio node of the mobile network, the radiousage details comprising an identifier of the particular radio resourcethat the user equipment is utilizing and based on a report from a userplane function of the mobile network, the report comprising usagedetails for the PDU session of the user equipment, wherein the mobilenetwork resource is a network slice of the mobile network that isoperated by a mobile network operator that is not the enterprise entity;and reporting, for the PDU session of the user equipment, charginginformation that includes a charging record and one of the identifierfor the enterprise entity or the identifier of the particular radioresource to a charging function of the mobile network to facilitatestoring the charging record for the user equipment that is to includethe identifier of the enterprise entity that is associated with theparticular radio resource.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theparticular radio resource is at least one of: a radio frequency that isassociated with the enterprise entity; a radio frequency band that isassociated with the enterprise entity; and a radio beam represented by abeam identifier.
 3. The method of claim 1, the radio usage detailsfurther comprising the identifier of the enterprise entity, wherein theradio node is configured with a mapping that includes the identifier ofthe enterprise entity in association with the identifier of theparticular radio resource.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein thecharging information includes the identifier of the enterprise entity.5. The method of claim 1, wherein the charging function of the mobilenetwork is configured with a mapping that identifies the particularradio resource in association with the identifier of the enterpriseentity.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the charging informationincludes the identifier of the particular radio resource.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein the identifier of the enterprise entity is one of: aThird Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Object Identifier (OID); anOrganizationally Unique Identifier (OUI); or a Roaming ConsortiumOrganizational Identifier (RCOI).
 8. One or more non-transitory computerreadable storage media encoded with instructions that, when executed bya processor, cause the processor to perform operations, comprising:determining, by a session management node of a mobile network, that auser equipment is utilizing a particular radio resource of a mobilenetwork resource for a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session of the userequipment, wherein the mobile network resource is capable of beingutilized via a plurality of radio resources and the particular radioresource is associated with an enterprise entity and the determining isbased, at least in part, on radio usage details from a radio node of themobile network, the radio usage details comprising an identifier of theparticular radio resource that the user equipment is utilizing and basedon a report from a user plane function of the mobile network, the reportcomprising usage details for the PDU session of the user equipment,wherein the mobile network resource is a network slice of the mobilenetwork that is operated by a mobile network operator that is not theenterprise entity; and reporting, for the PDU session of the userequipment, charging information that includes a charging record and oneof the identifier for the enterprise entity or the identifier of theparticular radio resource to a charging function of the mobile networkto facilitate storing the charging record for the user equipment that isto include the identifier of the enterprise entity that is associatedwith the particular radio resource.
 9. The media of claim 8, wherein theidentifier of the enterprise entity is one of: a Third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) Object Identifier (OID); an OrganizationallyUnique Identifier (OUI); or a Roaming Consortium OrganizationalIdentifier (RCOI).
 10. The media of claim 8, wherein the particularradio resource is at least one of: a radio frequency that is associatedwith the enterprise entity; a radio frequency band that is associatedwith the enterprise entity; and a radio beam represented by a beamidentifier.
 11. The media of claim 8, the radio usage details furthercomprising the identifier of the enterprise entity, wherein the radionode is configured with a mapping that includes the identifier of theenterprise entity in association with the identifier of the particularradio resource and the charging information includes the identifier ofthe enterprise entity.
 12. The media of claim 8, wherein the charginginformation includes the identifier of the particular radio resource andthe charging function of the mobile network is configured with a mappingthat identifies the particular radio resource in association with theidentifier of the enterprise entity.
 13. A session management node of amobile network comprising: at least one memory element for storing data;and at least one processor for executing instructions associated withthe data, wherein executing the instructions causes the sessionmanagement node to perform operations, comprising: determining that auser equipment is utilizing a particular radio resource of a mobilenetwork resource for a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session of the userequipment, wherein the mobile network resource is capable of beingutilized via a plurality of radio resources and the particular radioresource is associated with an enterprise entity and the determining isbased, at least in part, on radio usage details from a radio node of themobile network, the radio usage details comprising an identifier of theparticular radio resource that the user equipment is utilizing and basedon a report from a user plane function of the mobile network, the reportcomprising usage details for the PDU session of the user equipment,wherein the mobile network resource is a network slice of the mobilenetwork that is operated by a mobile network operator that is not theenterprise entity; and reporting, for the PDU session of the userequipment, charging information that includes a charging record and oneof the identifier for the enterprise entity or the identifier of theparticular radio resource to a charging function of the mobile networkto facilitate storing the charging record for the user equipment that isto include the identifier of the enterprise entity that is associatedwith the particular radio resource.
 14. The session management node ofclaim 13, wherein the particular radio resource is at least one of: aradio frequency that is associated with the enterprise entity; a radiofrequency band that is associated with the enterprise entity; and aradio beam represented by a beam identifier.
 15. The session managementnode of claim 13, wherein the identifier of the enterprise entity is oneof: a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Object Identifier(OID); an Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI); or a RoamingConsortium Organizational Identifier (RCOI).
 16. The session managementnode of claim 13, wherein the session management node is a ThirdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) Session Management Function (SMF).17. The session management node of claim 13, the radio usage detailsfurther comprising the identifier of the enterprise entity, wherein theradio node is configured with a mapping that includes the identifier ofthe enterprise entity in association with the identifier of theparticular radio resource.
 18. The session management node of claim 17,wherein the charging information includes the identifier of theenterprise entity.
 19. The session management node of claim 13, whereinthe charging information includes the identifier of the particular radioresource and the charging function of the mobile network is configuredwith a mapping that identifies the particular radio resource inassociation with the identifier of the enterprise entity.